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Saturday, August 3, 2013

We know we're a little late getting this out, but after a packed final day of the show, we're home, we've caught up on our sleep and we're ready to share the goods from our last day at Outdoor Retailer Summer 2013!

The Hobie Kayak Quest has been redone for 2014 to match the well loved Revolution 13 in looks and deck functionality. For those not looking for the pedal drive of the Revolution, the Quest offers a great paddling boat with all of the features of the Rev.

The Hobie Sport is totally redone for this year! We think it should actually be called the Outback 10 for it's feature set. The deck and bow have both been changed to be more like the Outback and the bow storage has greatly improved. Along with the Outback, Revolution 13 and Quest 13, the Sport is now Lowrance ready! It has plumbing ports to run wiring for fish finder installation along with a transducer port molded in the hull, similar to the Pro Angler series. Here fishie, fishie, fishie...

More detailed shots of the Lowrance ready ports available on the Outback, Revolution 13, Quest 13 and the Sport:

Two great new rack systems for the boaters from Yakima at this year's show!

The Jaylow stacker can be vertical or a few degrees past, making it work as either a cradle or a stacker. We love the new system that makes installation painless whether you have round, square or factory bars. Oh yeah, and when you're rolling without your boat, just flip the vertical bar down and voila! Aerodynamic and low profile!

The Sweetroll is going to be our (and yours) new favorite saddle/roller system. With the same no-fuss, no-muss connection system as the Jaylow, installation will be a snap. The two front saddles and two back saddles have integrated rollers, making loading your boat as easy as it's gonna get!

We love visiting the boys of Astral because they are always coming out with ridiculously cool, well thought out gear. Take the new Ronny Fisher: based on the popular Ronny platform, the Fisher adds fishing pockets designed to fit Plano boxes, the velcro flap on the left holds your forceps or other fishing tools, the zipper on the right opens the "dehydrator pocket" (a beverage holder) and, a feature we think is really great, a high visibility hood (for unplanned rain or evening boat traffic) is stashed in the back until it's needed.

The Linda receives a cool new color this year, for the ladies not interested in the "pink it and shrink it" look. Pockets "billow" and expand for all that stuff you need to keep close at hand.

If the Pyranha Burn 1 and the Burn 2 had a baby, it would be the Burn 3 (1 + 2 = 3?). The all new Burn takes the best of both previous versions and meets in the middle. While the original Burn was all about edge control with its low edges and (relatively) low bow volume, the second version moved those edges up with a fade and increased the bow volume, making for a more forgiving hull but sacrificing some of the precision of the original. The 3 takes the best of these, with volume somewhere in the middle and bringing those edges down while retaining the fade. The Burn has been a favorite on our local rivers since it's introduction, and with this latest version, we don't see that changing anytime soon!

P.s. Check out the sick graphic that'll be available on the "limited edition" colors!

Looking for more pictures and details on the Burn? Pyranha wrote a post-OR post with all the info straight from the source!

If you're looking to get your feet wet in the sit-on-top fishing market without blowing your last paycheck or two, the Cruise 10 might be what you're looking for! While it doesn't come with any fancy attachments or bells and whistles, it's friendly and easy to maneuver with attachment holes molded in, allowing you to gussy it up as you go.

The Big Rig is Jackson's new entry into the big boy market. Complete with molded fishing rod holder and inflatable lumber support, optional attachments will allow you to make this the fishing kayak of your dreams. From ICAST's 2013 Best in Show, the JL Marine Systems' Power-Pole Micro Anchor, to Jackson's own cooler that comes with mounts for additional attachment points, there is a seemingly endless number of ways to upgrade this already loaded boat.

Miscellaneous cool stuff...

Not yet in production, check out this interesting SUP sail. For those days when your arms have given out and you need a little help from your frenemy, the wind, just pull your sail out, set your paddle up and you're sailing home!

While we hope this trend catches on in all urban cities (and beyond!), we think this is an exceptionally great idea in SLC, where the blocks were built long enough for a team of 16 oxen (or something like that) - suffice to say flip flops aren't great for "it's just a couple of blocks that-a-way" here. Rent-a-bike!

We like a good fishing mount as much as the next guy, but if we see this guy on the water, we're going to make fun of him. Just kidding (not really). Mount ideas for pretty much any kind of fishing wizmo or gizmo you could think to bring courtesy of Ram Mounts!